Summer in Between
by brunahilda171
Summary: COMPLETE When Hermione and Ron start going out, Ginny feels left out and alone. Until Harry comes, that is. Will she discover new feelings for Harry with a push in the right direction from Tonks?
1. Alone

Story summary: Ginny feels left out after Ron and Hermione start spending more time together. All she wants is her best friend back. She's excited when she hears that Harry's coming, because she's sure that Ron would rather hang out with Harry than Hermione. But is that really all she's excited about? With a prod in the right direction from Tonks, will Ginny realize something else? Ginny's POV.

Chapter 1: Alone

b A/N: This is my first fanfic posted, so please R/R! /B 

"Ginny! Hermione! Breakfast!" Mum yelled up the stairs at me. I groaned, then climbed out of bed and put down i _Hogwarts, A History /i _ (I'd exhausted my reading collection, and this was all Hermione had for me. It was actually quite interesting).

Hermione yawned in the bed next to me and stretched. "I'm tired," she complained, sounding very unlike herself.

"Well, that's what you get for staying up all night 'talking' to my brother." I eyed her suspiciously, seeing if she would reveal something about it, but her face stayed blank and innocent. "Since when do you and Ron i _talk /i _, anyway?" I asked, smirking.

"She shrugged evasively. "Let's go eat. I'm starved." She walked out of the room and into the kitchen and grabbed a plate of eggs and bacon. I grabbed one, too, and sat down next to her. Ron came in his pajamas looking very tired and took a plate of food. He sat down on Hermione's other side.

"'Morning, Hermione," he said, yawning widely.

"Good morning to you, too, Ron," I said coldly. I felt slightly hurt that he had greeted Hermione instead of me. He usually just ignored both of us and practically fell asleep in his food. I liked that Ron better.

"Oh, hey Gin. Sorry, I didn't see you." He replied, then turned to Hermione. "So, Hermione…"

I rolled my eyes and sighed. Since when had Hermione had no time to talk to me? I mean, she and Ron were always bickering. Why the sudden change?

"Is something wrong, Ginny?" Tonks asked worriedly. She put her plate down next to me and sat down in the chair, putting her arm around my shoulders.

"No, Tonks. I'm fine," I replied dully.

"Are you sure?" She insisted. "You seem a little bit put out."

"Well…" I started, not quite sure what to say, or if I should say anything at all.

She said softly, "It's about Ron and Hermione, isn't it?" She looked slightly concerned.

"Yeah," I replied hesitantly. I took a quick look at Hermione and Ron to make sure they weren't listening. They were so engaged in their conversation I doubt an explosion would've disengaged them. "I mean, Hermione was my best friend, but now she's so busy talking to Ron. I was excited to see her this summer, but she hasn't really said a word to me since we got here."

"I know what you mean," Tonks sympathized. "But it'll pass. I promise. We have some news that might make you feel better, though."

"What?" I demanded.

"Well…" she hesitated. "I'm not supposed to tell you this, but Harry's coming tonight."

"Really?" I persisted. I hoped she wasn't telling me this just to make me feel better. Part of me wondered why she thought it would cheer me up.

Tonks nodded. "So much for a surprise," She muttered. "You weren't supposed to know until tonight."

"I don't mind," I replied. "I mean, I'm still surprised."

"Good." She said, smiling. "Do you mind if we borrow your broom? Harry doesn't have his anymore. After that toad Umbridge… you know…" She trailed off. I knew what she was trying to say, so I didn't press her. It was hard for her to talk about Harry for reasons I couldn't understand. It wasn't like she made it really obvious; I had the time to look carefully at everyone living in the house.

"Sure," I said. My heart was thudding like mad in my chest. I was excited to see Harry again. I kept wondering why I was so eager to see him—he was just my brother's best friend—when I had gotten over my crush on him years ago.

i _It's because you'll finally get your best friend back, Gin, _I told myself. _Ron will be too busy with Harry to "talk" to Hermione any more. I wonder exactly what they're _doing_ for the whole day? /i _ I had a feeling I knew, but didn't want to spy on them to confirm my feelings. I didn't want to see my brother snogging someone, especially my best friend. It's not like I couldn't if I had wanted to—living with Fred and George had taught me a lot.

This day seemed much more agonizing than most. I read i _Hogwarts, a History /i _ until lunch. I wanted to talk to Hermione, wondering how I could've taken it for granted for so long. She was a bit pushy and could be rude at times, but she made you feel better when you were in a bad mood.

I thought about my reaction when I found out Harry was coming and decided that I definitely didn't have a crush on Harry. I couldn't; he was my brother's best mate.After coming to this conclusion I couldn't help but remind myself that that hadn't stopped Ron.

Lunch helped take my mind off of how bored I was. Tonks and I talked through most of it, which almost made me forget about Hermione. I told her I'd give her my broom after lunch, and she seemed satisfied.

"How are you going to go about getting Harry?" I asked, slightly louder than I normally would have because I couldn't hear over Ron and Hermione. They were loudly bickering about something having to do with homework, but it seemed almost like a show they were putting on. They wanted to convince us that everything was the same as ever. i _Nice try, Mione_, / I thought. i _You're not fooling me, or anyone else, for that matter. We're not blind. /i _

"Shhh!" Tonks hissed. "You're not supposed to know this, remember?" I nodded. "We're just going over there and picking him up."

"But what about his aunt and uncle?" I wanted to know. "Do are you going to try and get them out of the house? They've probably been _really_ suspicious about that type of thing since you lured them away last year—"

Lupin sat down across from me and Tonks shut me up by stepping on my bare foot. Hard.

"So, Ginny, what were you saying about Quidditch?" She asked sweetly, fixing me with an evil look that said, i _You had better play along with this, or else! /i _

"Oh, um…" my mind raced for something to say about it. "I was just saying that I'm going to try out as a Chaser once Harry gets his position as Seeker back."

"That's nice," Tonks said. Thankfully, I had finished my food and was free to go back upstairs.

Tonks grabbed me by the arm and whispered, "I'll be up in your room in just a second." I nodded to show that I'd heard, then sauntered up the stairs, dragging my feet. I was bored stiff, and I suppose I figured that if it took me forever to walk up the stairs I wouldn't have to worry about finding something to do before Harry came and I got Hermione back.

I had just slammed my door and flopped down on my bed before I heard a knock at the door. "Come in," I said. Tonks obeyed, the door swinging back with a thud. She started to walk over to my bed, but she stubbed her toe on a Charms book that was lying on the floor.

Tonks swore loudly, covering her mouth and turning slightly red. "Sorry," she said, hopping over to my bed, sitting on the edge. I pulled myself up and sat, leaning against the pillows.

"To answer your question, we're just going there and picking him up. I think it'll be nice to pay a visit to his aunt and uncle to make sure they're treating him all right." She grinned slyly.

A smile tugged at my lips. "When are you going?" I wanted to know.

"Before dinner. Probably around five or so," She responded. "It's just me, Mad-Eye, and Remus going, so we can really go anytime."

"Oh," I said, sighing. I wished this day would just _end_!

"You're really bored, aren't you, Gin?" she said, looking slightly concerned and motherly. I finally remembered how much older she was than me.

"Yeah. You would be, too, if your best friend left for your i _brother /i _," I replied bitterly.

"I'm sorry. I'll try to go earlier, if that makes you feel any better," she offered, trying to be helpful.

I shrugged. "Whatever. I guess that would be nice." My mood was becoming increasingly worse as the day wore on.

"Well, I'll just leave you to… whatever you're going to do," Tonks said. She hugged me. "It'll get better soon. I promised, didn't I?" She stood up and limped out of the room, but stubbed her other toe on my Transfiguration book. i _I need to clean up around here soon, /i _ I thought.

"Fuck!" She yelled. She then looked over at me. "Oh, sorry Ginny. I didn't mean to." She blushed, her face turning almost the same shade as her bright pink hair. "I'll just be leaving now…" She slunk out of the room, trying desperately to look at the ground and straight ahead of her at the same time so she didn't stub her toe, trip, or run into anything. She succeeded, then went out the door and shut it, muttering as she did so.

I looked around my room, slightly embarrassed at the state of it, and made a half-hearted attempt to clean it up. I managed to throw all my books in the trunk before I decided I was too lazy to do anymore and just sat in the middle of my floor. I felt like I was on the verge of tears. i _Why doesn't anyone want to talk to me?_ I felt like yelling. _Why can't Fred and George come? They could certainly find ways to make our stay here interesting. For everyone. Not just Ron and Hermione /i ._ I wondered for the millionth time what they were i _doing /i _all day.


	2. Harry's Arrival

**Disclaimer** I don't own Harry Potter, no matter how much I wish I did. JK Rowling does. Got it?

**A/N: Hello again! I'm happy to say that I think this fic is going wonderfully so far. I forgot to credit my "editors" in the last chapter, so here goes: Natalie, Ainsley, and LeeAnn, thank you _sooooo_ much for reading my story and helping me make it better:) Enjoy!**

**Chapter 2: Harry's Arrival**

I tried desperately to keep myself preoccupied for the rest of the day. When reading _Hogwarts, A History_ didn't work, I started my Potions homework for the summer. That just depressed me, though, because it made me think of Snape. I shivered involuntarily and chucked my potions book across the room. It crashed against the wall and hit the floor with a loud thud.

I sat still for a few minutes, sighing and feeling sorry for myself. This was the worst summer ever. I don't know how long it was before I heard someone pounding on the door. "Ginny, are you in there?" Lupin's voice called from the other side of the door.

"Oh, yeah, you can come in," I responded hurriedly. I saw the doorknob turn and a second later Lupin was standing there, holding a broom in his left hand.

"I know Tonks already told you, but we're going to get Harry now," he informed me. It was all I could do not to gape at him.

"Wh-what are you talking about? I had no idea—" I stammered, trying to sound convincing.

"You're a terrible liar, Ginny. I know Tonks told you. She wasn't being especially subtle about it," he replied. He looked quite amused. "You might as well admit it."

Before I could stop myself, I blurted, "You're not mad, are you?"

He laughed. It was the first time I had heard him laugh since Sirius died, and it sounded kind of hollow and hoarse. I assumed he hadn't laughed for a while. "No, I'm not mad."

There was an awkward silence for a minute before I mumbled, "Well, you should probably be on your way then." I hoped Tonks didn't get in trouble, although I highly doubted it. I didn't think Lupin was the sort of person to get mad about something like what Tonks had done. He probably realized she was only trying to cheer me up and keep me from boring myself to death.

"Yes, we probably should. We'll be back in an hour or so," he said, still smiling in a slightly amused way.

* * *

The next hour was even more interminable than the whole day. I was really excited to see Harry again—No! that couldn't be it! Why did my brain, along with everyone else, act like I had a crush on Harry when I _knew_ it wasn't true?

I groaned loudly. The door opened at that exact moment. _Why are people always barging in when I wanted to be left alone?_ I thought bitterly. That thought confused me even more. I thought I _wanted_ someone around!

"Hey, Ginny, are you all right?" Hermione asked worriedly. She sounded exactly like my mother. I just nodded as she walked over to her bed and laid back on it. Now that Hermione was here, I just wished she'd go away.

Seeing that I wasn't about to initiate a conversation, Hermione tried to start one. "I'm really tired," she stated offhandedly. "I'm not sure why, I've just been sitting around inside all day."

"Snogging takes a lot of energy," I retorted.

"What—Ginny, what are you talking about?" she asked, blushing slightly.

"That's what you and Ron are doing, Hermione." She started to protest but I cut her off. "Don't try to lie to me. I know you two have fancied each other for a long time."

She shook her head. "That's not true. We're only talking," she insisted. From the way she flicked her eyes around I could tell she was lying.

I snorted and rolled my eyes. "You and Ron never talk! Why did _that_ suddenly change?" I demanded. "All you ever used to do was argue. You two are always having a row over something, normally something stupid. All of a sudden you're talking to him constantly."

She glared at me in a way I had she'd looked at Ron millions of times before. "The reason I talk to him is because he doesn't think I'm a liar and he's _happy_ to see me, unlike some people." Her eyes shining with tears, she stormed out of the room, slamming the door shut behind her. I heard her burst into tears a few feet away from the door, and from the loud _thump_ it sounded like she'd stopped and leaned against the wall. She was acting so different than she normally did! I felt like _I_ was going to cry. Why had I talked to Hermione like that? I _wanted_ company!

I heard footsteps then Ron's voice saying, "What's wrong, Hermione?" He actually sounded concerned. Ron _never_ normally wasn't able to understand others' feelings and, although he asked them what was wrong, he normally couldn't find a way to help out.

"It's—it's Ginny!" Hermione sobbed in a small voice. "We just had a fight." I couldn't hear the rest.

_I wish I had some extendable ears,_ I thought. _I want to know what they're saying!_

I gave up soon, leaning against the headboard of my bed and willing myself not to cry. That didn't work; I started to sob almost immediately. I must have fallen asleep, because the next thing I knew, I heard the front door slamming. Harry was here.

I had completely lost my enthusiasm for anything. I wanted to go back to sleep, then wake up with everything how it used to be. Hermione and I would still be best friends and Ron would be insensitive and completely indifferent to what we were doing. Why, oh _why_ couldn't life be normal!

Reluctantly I stood up and trudged to the bathroom, making sure I didn't look too bad. To my surprise, my face wasn't puffy or red at all. Tonks knocked on the door, saying, "Ginny? Did you know Harry's here?"

"Yeah. I did," I replied unenthusiastically, opening the door. I must have looked very sad, because Tonks's smile fell immediately.

"What's wrong?" she asked. "Did you and Hermione have a row?" I nodded, sighing.

"It'll all be cleared up. Stop worrying! Let's go see Harry. Come on!" She grabbed my hand like I was a five-year-old and pulled me down the steps. I moaned and groaned the whole way, but she completely ignored it.

Tonks dragged me to the kitchen door. She shoved me in first, then followed behind me.

Harry was standing awkwardly by the door while my mum fussed over him. "Oh, Harry, you're so skinny! Haven't they been feeding you?" she asked, hugging him so tightly I doubted he could breathe.

When Mum let go of him he finally spotted me. "Uh—hi, Ginny," he greeted me. He looked really sad and tired, but came over and shook my hand. I tried my hardest not to jump noticeably when he did so. Why did I flinch at Harry's touch?

_What the hell is going on?_ I wondered. _I hope I wake up soon. I want to get out of this terrible dream!_

It felt like he held on to my hand for hours. Half of me wanted him to let go, but the other half wasn't so sure. When he finally let go of my hand and went over to Lupin, I found myself getting slightly resentful. Tonks whispered in my ear, "Show him to his rooms. He _likes_ you, Ginny. Take advantage of it!" I looked at her, barely concealing my shock. That was completely impossible!

_And I thought my life couldn't get any weirder,_ I mused.

* * *

Harry disengaged himself from his conversation with Lupin and came back to me. "Erm—will you help me carry my trunk up the steps?" He asked uneasily.

I looked over at Tonks, thinking she'd offer to take it up the stairs for us. After all, _she_ wasn't underage. She could use magic and make the whole task easier for all of us. All she did was wink and smile, which completely vexed me.

"Sure," I agreed, blushing slightly. I was glad my hair covered my bright red ears. I picked up one end of the trunk and stumbled. It was _heavy._ He picked up the other end, and between the two of us we somehow managed to get it up the stairs.

"What do you _have_ in here, Harry?" I asked jokingly, trying to start some small talk.

He shrugged, looking really miserable. Being here obviously made him think of Sirius. "Just… normal stuff," he replied. "Lots of books for all my homework."

Seeing Harry so sad made me feel terrible. He was normally happier than this. I wouldn't go as far as to say that he was always happy and cheery, but he just seemed so gloomy. I could barely stand it. _Why does it bother me so much?_ I wondered.

After much effort, we got Harry's trunk into his room. I sat down on the edge of his bed, panting. He stood at the foot of his bed looking at me, a strange look in his eyes, and sat down next to me. We sat in silence for a while, before I realized with a start how close he was sitting to me. Our legs were touching, and my leg tingled in the spot where he touched it. My heart was thumping loudly in my chest; I hoped he couldn't hear it.

He turned to me and stared me straight in the eyes. I had a feeling there was something he wanted to tell me. I had no idea what, or rather, the ideas that came to my head I shunned immediately. _Harry is not in love with me,_ I told myself for the millionth time, trying to make myself believe it. The look only made my heart beat faster and more loudly; now I was positive he could hear it.

"I missed you, Ginny," he finally said, wrapping his arms around me and hugging me tightly. I was stunned by the strange gesture, but I hugged him back. The sensation I had was different than I ever had before in my life. The feeling was good and bad at the same time; I had no idea that was possible. Only a second passed before I head the door creak open. The two of us jumped apart, startled. I turned toward the door, seeing who had come in without knocking. Tonks was standing in the doorway. She coughed.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything…" she trailed off. "Harry, you just left Hedwig's cage in the kitchen." She placed the cage on the floor next to his door and straightened, looking awkward but not really embarrassed.

"Thanks, Tonks," Harry managed to say.

"I'll leave you two alone now," Tonks said smugly, walking out and shutting the door behind her. I sat on the bed like a fish out of water. I was suddenly completely uncomfortable. All I wanted was to be out of this room, to sit by myself and think.

"Harry, I—well, I'll see you at dinner. I've got to go." I practically ran out of the room, stumbling down the hall into my room. I wrenched the door open and was about to grab my book, but I never got that far.

What I saw made me stop dead in my tracks.

**A/N: I hope you liked it! _Now review!_**


	3. Complications

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Harry Potter. JK Rowling does (she's so lucky... sigh)

**A/N:Nothing to say, really... I just like making author's notes! Hope you like it.Read and Review!**

* * *

Ron and Hermione were lying on Hermione's bed making out. They were really going at it; they flew apart right as I averted my eyes.

"Oh my God!" I shouted, starting to run out of the room.

"Wait, Ginny, I can explain!" Hermione yelled. I stopped and turned back to face her.

"What is there to explain?" I asked her. "You're in our room snogging my brother. What about it?"

"Well, if you'd just knocked…" she trailed off, obviously annoyed.

"It's my room, too!" I replied loudly, glaring at her. It was all I could do not to really scream at her. "I have every right to come in here. Why should I knock?"

"Because I may be busy," she said as if she was talking to a very young child. I rolled my eyes and slammed the door, leaving them to pick up where they left off. I shuddered at the idea, scarred for life by what I had just seen. Having no idea where to go next, I walked over and sat on the stairs. I was utterly miserable.

It was silent for a long time while I sat and thought about what was going on in my life. After a few minutes I concluded, _My brother is going out with my best friend who is quite angry at me and has kicked me out of my room, my brother's best friend, who just happens to be Harry Potter, is acting very strange, and I don't have anyone my age to hang out with. Well, there's Harry, but I feel so odd around him... _

By the time I was out of my haze I realized there was someone coming up the stairs. I listened to them, realizing that the steps sounded uneven, like one foot was different than the other. _It must be Moody,_ I realized.

Sure enough, Moody's head popped into view (or what was left of it, anyway). "What are you up to?" he asked, looking at me suspiciously. It was hard for me to look at him with his eye spinning so madly. I had a feeling he knew, but didn't want me to know that he knew. He could see through _walls,_ for God's sake!

"Well, I just…" I trailed off, not wanting to tell him what was wrong. I didn't really trust him. Not after what had happened with him as my teacher in my third year. Or who I _thought_ was him, anyway.

"Walked in on Ron and Hermione?" he inquired. "I'm surprised you didn't earlier. They've been doing that for weeks—"

I felt nauseous, and seeing his eye spinning around did not make me feel any better. Moody went on about how Ron and Hermione had been kissing practically since we got here and even started supplying me with more detail.

"I think I'm going to be sick," I told him. "Please, no more!" He shrugged and continued mumbling about the pair. I fled down the hall to Tonks's room.

I knocked on the door, and she opened it, stepping aside to let me in. "So you finally walked in on them," she stated very matter-of-factly. Her tone drove me crazy and made me slightly angry.

"It was bound to happen sometime, Ginny," she told me, putting her arm around my shoulders comfortingly.

I said nothing and surveyed her room. She had a large bed with a big, dark red canopy pulled back at the sides. A big, fluffy chair of the same color sat in the corner. She walked over and sat on the bed, pointing to the chair and saying, "Sit." I obeyed, walking slowly over to the chair and flopping onto it with a sigh.

She sat there on the bed, staring at me in silence. I think she expected me to talk, but when I didn't, she warned me, "You should talk to Hermione before this whole thing blows completely out of proportion."

"It already has," I informed her, "but you're probably right. I'll talk to her tonight."

She eyed me. "You should talk to Harry, too."

I started to blush when she said that, but I had no idea why. _It's just_ Harry,_ for God's sake!_ I thought.

"He likes you," she said. I rolled my eyes.

"That's crazy. Harry never liked me, even when I liked him…" I trailed off.

"People change, Ginny," she argued. "Maybe he's liked you all this time and has never really admitted it to himself. Or maybe he only started to fancy you this summer."

"But that doesn't matter because I don't like _him_ anymore," I protested. "I haven't for years!"

Tonks looked at me dubiously, but didn't have the opportunity to because someone knocked on the door, then opened it without waiting for a response. Harry's head popped into view.

"Tonks—" he stopped when he saw me. "Oh, hi, Ginny, I was wondering where you were." He gave me that strange look again and my face started to grow hot.

"What's up?" Tonks prompted. She turned to look at me almost as if to say, "I told you so!"

"It's time for dinner. Mrs. Weasley is getting worried that something happened to the two of you," he finished.

"Oh, okay, I'll be right down. Ginny, why don't you go on?" she suggested, giving me a triumphant smile. I glared at her but left the room.

"So, um," Harry started, "are you going to play Quidditch?" He was bright red and obviously feeling very awkward.

"Oh, uh, yeah. With you back as seeker I think I'll probably try to be a chaser. I'm not very good, or anything, though," I said. I felt so uneasy around him!

"I'm sure you're fine, Ginny," he reassured me.

I sighed heavily. Things weren't going as I had planned them. I was expecting to have Hermione hanging out with me, not snogging my brother, now that Harry was here.

"What's wrong? You seem…" he trailed off, searching for the right word. "Angry. Sad. I dunno. Just not normal, I guess."

"I—" I wasn't sure if I should tell him or not. _Why is this happening to me so much? I never used to have to wonder if it was okay to tell someone something or not. I just_ knew, I thought.

"Tell me," he prompted. I looked at him carefully. His face was pale and unsmiling. He seemed dead. It was amazing how much Sirius's death had affected him. They hadn't been so chummy when they first met (or so I'd heard). Harry apparently yelled at him for betraying his parents, and Sirius apologized and he'd as good as killed them. How had it happened that in less than two years they had become so close?

"I walked in on Hermione and Ron snogging," I blurted. Why did I even care if I told or not? Hermione wasn't speaking to me.

_You're not speaking to her, either,_ part of me said, but I tried my best to ignore that part. I preferred the other part, which said that she'd started it.

Harry looked stunned. Much more stunned than I ever was, even when they first started acting strangely and "talking" all the time. "I knew something was up," he said incredulously, "but I didn't know it was like _this_!"

I grimaced. "Hermione hasn't really said anything to me since school ended. She told me she and Ron were talking, so she never had the chance to speak to me. She and Ron have such deep conversations, you know," I joked, grinning for the first time in what felt like forever.

A small smile tugged at his lips, and he snorted. I felt a small surge of triumph. Making someone laugh who was as sad as him felt like a big accomplishment. Why? I pondered.

"That's true," he replied. "Were they, you know…" he trailed off, but I knew what he meant.

"Yeah," I said. "They were really… enthusiastic. It was kind of sickening."

He looked at me, smirking slightly. "Was it really that bad?" he asked. "You act as if you were just told you were going to be tortured to death tomorrow."

I shuddered. "You had to be there, I suppose. Plus, Ron isn't your brother." He looked thoughtful at this and nodded slowly.

"True." We were saved from any further conversation when we entered the kitchen. We got our food (pasta) and sat down. I just started to eat, too hungry to wait for anyone else. Harry just stared into his food. He didn't seem like he was going to eat it. Tonks arrived a few minutes later and managed to almost drop a plate on the ground, the food sliding off. Mum sighed and shook her head, cleaning it up with a swipe of her wand. She handed Tonks another plate, which Tonks accepted and held very carefully with both hands, making sure not to spill any spaghetti.

She sat down on my left and whispered in my ear, "Do you feel any better?" I thought for a minute. Come to think of it, I did feel better. A lot better. And I wasn't especially mad at Hermione any more. I was ready to make up.

_Best to make up with her tonight,_ I thought. _I don't want to interrupt her and Ron again…_ I shuddered as I thought of it, causing both Tonks and Harry to look at me quizzically.

"What's wrong?" Harry asked, looking at me worriedly. He seemed almost protective, as if he wanted to know who (or what) was doing making me uncomfortable and make them stop. I had to stop myself from goggling. I didn't know why he was looking at me like this.

Tonks gave me a very understand and all-knowing look, and I could tell that she knew what was going on. "I would suggest you stop thinking about it, Ginny. You'll never get anywhere being so bitter," she advised. I sighed and rolled my eyes. Harry still looked puzzled.

Tonks and I looked at each other. "Never mind, Harry," we chorused. He scowled at us and returned to picking at his food and moving it around his plate. The two lovebirds came into the room just then. Hermione's hair was more messy than normal, and her face was flushed. She was breathing heavily. Harry glanced up from his plate, and a look of understanding passed over his face.

"Hey what were you guys doing?" he asked casually. Way too casually. Ron didn't look miffed, but Hermione glared at me, mouthing, "You told."

The look kind of scared me, but I knew I had to hold my own. I couldn't cringe and back down now; Hermione would only get worse. _You have to stop letting her walk all over you, Gin!_ I told myself. No stopping now. You've come too far. 

"So?" I asked her aloud. "If you're willing to—"

"Shut up Ginny!" she yelled. Everyone looked up, startled. Her eyes were full of fire; for a minute I thought she was going to slap me.

_C'mon, 'Mione,_ I challenged her silently, fixing her with a hard stare. _You know you want to._ She refused the challenge, gave me one final scowl, and went to get her food.

"How do you expect to make up with her _now_?" Tonks asked.

"Tonks, you don't get it. Hermione always does this to me. Maybe it's never this bad, but she still does it. I mean, she does it to everyone. And she always wins. I didn't have a choice. I'll still talk to her tonight after the edge has worn off, but this is probably one of the only ways I'll ever get Hermione to treat me as anything but inferior," I explained fiercely. "What was I supposed to do?"

Tonks looked at me quizzically. "I just hope aren't in too deep. I know how close you two you are."

"She'll snap out of it." Harry spoke for the first time since he found out what we had been talking about. His voice was so neutral I wondered whose side he was on. I mean, he would side with me, right? They were his friends, too, and it was very likely he would ignore them, too. "She always does."

We ate in complete silence. Harry didn't eat very much, and he left the table first. He only managed to consume about half of his plateful. I was really worried about him.

Since I had come down earlier than Hermione and Ron I decided to claim my territory. I hurried up to our room and sprawled out on my bed, reading _Hogwarts, A History_. Once again, that didn't work. I hoped we received our letters soon. I wanted to know if I was a prefect.

Hermione and Ron came in a few minutes later. Right before she entered, I heard her say, "I really have to talk to Ginny. You go talk to Harry. I'm worried about him." And with that, she knocked and came in without waiting for a response.

"Ginny, we need to talk," She said. "I'm really sorry about how I've been acting. I just realized how much it might be bothering you."

I smiled. "You know, Hermione, I was going to talk to _you_, but I decided it might be better to wait until tonight."

"No," she demanded firmly, "we have to talk now. I just… I really like Ron."

"I know, Hermione. You and Ron have liked each other for _ages_," I replied. "I noticed it, even when you didn't. And the whole thing about telling Tonks and Harry… well, Tonks guessed. And Harry needs someone to talk to. He asked me what was going on, and at first I didn't tell him, but then—it just slipped out. He really needs you two right now."

"He needs you, too, Ginny," Hermione told me. "He really likes you. Can't you tell?"

"But what about Dean?" I asked.

"Dump him. You like Harry, too, and he needs you more," Hermione advised.

I sighed. "I do _not_ like Harry. How could you even _think_ that? But the thing about Dean is I don't really think I like him, either. At least not like that. It's too bad, breaking things off before I really gave him a chance," I admitted. "He's a really great guy, but I don't think he's my type. And we never even really went out."  
"What was it you just said? 'And I noticed it, even when you two didn't'? I think that applies here," she said, grinning mischievously. I glared at her, but my glare was dampened by my wide grin. Things were back to normal with Hermione.

* * *

**A/N: Okay, you've read it (I bet a lot of you predicted what was going to happen; as to those of you who suggested I do that, I've had it planned that way basically since I started writing the story), now REVIEW! I'm not posting until I get _at least ten_. Closer to fifteen or twenty would be better, but if I haven't gotten ten reviews by the end of next week I'll submit the next chapter on Sunday. (Ainsley and LeeAnn, it only counts the first time you reveiw it. and only if you review it in _ENGLISH_)  
**


	4. Letters

**Disclaimer:** I _still_ don't own Harry Potter. Or any of the other characters you recognize, and sadly, I probably never will...

**A/N: Hello again! I'm writing my fifth (and final, I believe), chapter, but softball season has started, and it's pretty much taken over my life, so it may take me a while to post it. This fic is going to be short, but I think its best if i start short and get longer... I'm planning a sequel right now. thanx to my "editors"/random idea spewers!**

* * *

I woke up early to the sun streaming through the window above my bed. I sighed, more content than I had been since the incident in the Department of Mysteries. All of us who had been there had changed; we all _believed_ Harry when he said he saw Voldemort (for some reason the name didn't really bother me anymore; well, at least not to think. I still would never say it), but it had never seemed real. Not until there were Death Eaters swarming around trying to kill us.

Things were back to normal with Hermione, which was one of the reasons I was so happy. I understood that I wouldn't have her completely to myself, but I didn't mind. If there was one thing having six brothers taught me it was how to share (even when they stole things, I was the one that never got mad. But that was probably because there wasn't much that they actually _wanted_, much less stole, from my room. They stole a lot more from each other than they ever stole from me). Plus, there was always Harry who I could fall back on if Hermione and Ron started to ignore me again. He was acting so odd, though! Why was he suddenly hugging me and staring at me? I looked at my alarm clock and saw that it was only seven-thirty. That left me an hour before my mum called me downstairs for breakfast (well, at least as long as we didn't let on that we were awake).

I took a long shower then spent the remaining time talking to Hermione. "So... when did this whole thing with you and Ron start, anyway?" I asked.

"Well, I guess it all started this summer. At first we actually were talking." When I looked at her skeptically, she added quickly, "But only at first. Later we did… other things. I don't even really know how it happened."

"Did you make the first move or did he?" I wanted to know.

"He did," she replied. I shuddered, and she laughed. "I know it must be hard for you to take; I mean, he is your brother." I nodded.

* * *

At 8:30 Mum yelled up the steps to tell us we should come down and eat. "Why does Mum make us have breakfast so early?" Ron complained as the four of us walked downstairs.

I shrugged. "I was already awake." I felt someone's eyes on me; when I turned around, I realized that Harry was staring at me. He quickly averted his gaze when he realized I had noticed him.

_Why is Harry staring at me?_ I wondered. I was saved from thinking any further because we had arrived in the kitchen. I grabbed my pancakes and went to sit down. Hermione sat on my left and Tonks on my right. Ron sat down next to Hermione, and Harry sat down at the end of the table next to Ron.

"How is everything?" Tonks asked. "You and Hermione _seem_ normal, but maybe I'm reading it wrong."

I let out a sigh and smiled contentedly. "It's as normal as it can be while she goes out with Ron," I replied. She looked at me with raised eyebrows. "Don't get me wrong, I'm not angry, but it is a little awkward, having your best friend going out with your brother."

She nodded. "I see what you mean," she agreed. "But I don't _have_ a brother, so I wouldn't know. I'm just glad everything's okay between you guys." She put her arm around my shoulder.

"How are things with Harry?" she asked curiously. "Has he done anything else?"

"No!" I hissed, incredibly irritated. "For the last time, I do not like Harry. Not like that. He's just a friend."

"I see." She looked at me skeptically.

"I hope the letters come today," Hermione said, saving me from the uncomfortable conversation I was having with Tonks. "I want to know how many O.W.Ls I got! What if I failed? Then I'll never be able to—"

"I'm sure you did really well, Hermione," I said reassuringly.

"Maybe," she said. "But I could've gotten eleven!"

Suddenly four brown owls flew in the window. I looked over at Hermione, "Oh my gosh!" she squeaked, eyes growing wide as one owl dropped a letter in front of her. She ripped open the seal and her eyes frantically skimmed the letter.

"I got eleven!" she exclaimed disappointedly.

"That's great!" Tonks congratulated her. "Good job, Hermione."

"What are you talking about?" Hermione demanded. "I came so close to getting twelve, but I didn't!"

"That's really good!" I told her.

"No it's not!" Hermione replied miserably.

I turned over to Ron. "What did you get?" I asked.

"Nine," he answered. "Not bad. How about you, Harry?"

"Ten," he replied quietly.

"Good job, all of you," I said, looking back at my plate. I suddenly realized that I had a letter of my own sitting in my lap. I carefully tore off the seal and unfolded it. Something shiny was sitting on the parchment, so I picked up and stared at it. Hermione peered over my shoulder.

"Ginny's a prefect!" Hermione announced loudly.

"Oh, Ginny!" Mum exclaimed, crushing me in a tight hug.

I looked over her shoulder, seeing a barn owl sitting on the windowsill.

"Mum," I wheezed, "there's an owl—" she loosened her grip once she realized that I was talking.

"What is it, dear?" she asked. I didn't have to respond, though, because the owl flew over and forced the letter into my hand. I opened it up and stared at it.  
_Dear Ginny,_

I'm sorry I couldn't do this in person, but I have to get it off my back. I have a lot of things going on right now and I just don't feel like I could be a good boyfriend; the kind you deserve. I hope you're having a good summer.

Sincerely,  
Dean

I couldn't believe what I was reading. I walked up the stairs to my room and sat on my bed, surprised.

_You were going to break up with him,_ I told myself. _And it's not like you actually_ did _anything together._

I heard the door open and Hermione and Tonks came over to my bed and sat down.

"What happened?" Tonks asked. I handed her the letter silently. Hermione and Tonks read it, frowning.

"Gin, I'm not trying to make this sound unimportant, but weren't you going to break up with him?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah, but…" I had no idea what I was feeling or how to explain it. "I guess I just wasn't expecting him to dump me first." I knew it sounded dumb, but wasn't what I was feeling dumb anyway?

"Are you mad at him?" Tonks asked.

I shrugged. "No. It's just… I don't know what it is."

"I understand," Tonks said. "Did you really like him?

I shook my head. "He asked me out, but I never liked him. At least not like that. He was really nice and—"

"You didn't want to hurt his feelings," Hermione finished for me. "That's one of you're problems. You're afraid to hurt people's feelings when they ask you to do something, so you can't say no."

I sighed. "I mean, I didn't want to screw up things between Ron and Dean either. They have to share a dorm and I didn't want Ron to do something stupid because Dean insulted me."

Hermione shrugged. "Do you really think Dean would talk to Ron about you?"

"He could have been talking to Seamus or someone and Ron could've overheard… I definitely wouldn't put it past him."

"Neither would I," Hermione said, smiling. "He can be pretty protective about his family and friends. I just don't think Dean would actually talk about you anywhere near Ron. He knows what could happen, and he's not that mean." I smiled slightly, too.

* * *

The next week passed by fairly uneventfully. It took me a few days to work out how I felt about Dean dumping me, but I decided that I was okay with it. And if he really was having problems like he said he was, then it was probably better if he had some time to think only of himself. As mean as it sounds, not having to worry about others can sometimes help a lot when you're sad. I knew what it was like.

I spent my time hanging out with Ron, Hermione, and Harry. Now that Ron and Hermione were dating, we all spent a lot more time together. That wasn't a problem, of course; I liked hanging out with Harry and Ron. But Hermione was the only one who felt sorry for me as far as the breakup was concerned. In fact, she probably felt sorrier for me than I felt for myself. When it came up, Ron just snorted. "Dean is a git," he told me. "I can't believe you actually went out with him."

"Well, I didn't really. We never had a date," I said.

"He was still your boyfriend," Ron pointed out. "Will you _promise_ to choose someone better this time?" He looked at Harry, then back at me. I got the message, loud and clear, and I wished I could punch him for it.

_Oh, great,_ I thought, rolling my eyes. _Now Ron is trying to set us up, too! Why do I even put up with this?_

Harry said nothing, just shrugged. Merlin, he was so quiet!

Ron started going on about how he hoped I actually dated "better" people in the future. "Who are you going to move on to next, Colin Creevey?" he ranted.

I shook my head. "I'd never go out with Colin." Harry snorted but still said nothing.

"Why couldn't you go out with Harry?" Ron continued to complain. "He's not a stupid git…"

"Oh, no, I don't think so." I stopped, realizing that Harry was sitting right next to me and might be offended. "Harry's a good friend, but I don't think—"

"Its fine, Ginny," he intervened. He didn't really seem angry or offended, but I was still blushing profusely.

We were all starting to get bored by Thursday; I had been cooped up in this house for two weeks, and Harry had been here for a week. Sitting around a house got boring no matter who you were with.

Friday morning Lupin stood up. "Tomorrow we are going to Diagon Alley to get books for your classes," he told us. "Tonks, Mad-Eye, and I will escort you four."

Escorts! I looked over at Harry. He looked angry, sad, and very guilty. We all knew he was the reason we had escorts, and he knew we didn't exactly enjoy being followed everywhere. I think he thought we blamed him for it.

"Why do we have to be escorted everywhere?" Ron complained.

_Oh, my God, Ron, how can you be so_ stupid I wanted to yell. Couldn't he tell that Harry was having a hard enough time without Ron whining about it?

"To protect Harry. And now you three could be targets as well, since you were there at the Department of Mysteries. Sirius's death was…" Tonks trailed off and sighed, thinking of how to put it. "Sirius's death was unfortunate, but we're trying to prevent something like that from happening again. I'm sorry we have to do this. I know you probably hate us for following you around everywhere. But it's for your own good." Harry shoved his chair back from the table and stormed up the stairs. Tonks shook her head, and Ron and Hermione looked uncertain of what to do next.

"I feel so sorry for him," Tonks said sadly. "He's never really had anyone who cared about him like Sirius did. And now he's dead and we're _still_ watching him all the time."

Lupin sighed and put a hand on her shoulder. "It's the right thing to do, Tonks."

"Being here must make him think of Sirius," Tonks said.

"Everything makes him think of Sirius," Hermione replied.

"And don't worry about mentioning Sirius. Harry was probably thinking of him anyway," I added.

"True," Tonks agreed.

It seemed that no one else was going to go up and talk to Harry, so I decided I'd do it myself. "I'm going to go see if Harry's okay," I said. I stood up and went up the stairs to Harry and Ron's room.

"Harry?" I said, knocking on the door. "Harry, I'm going to come in." I opened the door to reveal Harry lying on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. He turned away from me.

"Go away, he muttered. I heard him sniffle.

_He's crying,_ I thought. _Oh Merlin. Do you really want to get into this? _

But I decided that was the only thing to do. I had to help him. He really needed it, and it didn't seem that he would get it from anyone else. I think that Ron and Hermione had kind of given up on him talking to them.

"Harry, you need to talk to someone. And don't say, 'I'll talk to Ron later' because I know you won't. And we both know that Ron isn't exactly capable of understanding other people's feelings all of the time. So you're going to talk to me. Now," I responded firmly.

Silence. I went to go sit on his bed. He sighed in resignation, sitting up next to me but still saying nothing. He had tear streaks on his face, and I could tell he didn't want me to notice. But I did. How could I not? It hurt me to see others in such pain.

After what felt like forever, I prompted, "So you're going to talk, right?" I looked at him. He wiped his face off and was blinking back more tears.

"I miss him," he said. "And it's all my fault he died."

"It is not," I protested. "You can't take the blame for it. You-Know-Who did it to you. And Kreacher lied. You did what you thought was right."

"But if I hadn't quit on Occlumency, Voldemort wouldn't have been able to get through to me. Then Sirius wouldn't be dead and everyone who came with me wouldn't have had to be put through that," he argued.

"Well, quitting Occlumency it was a mistake. And a really big one, I won't deny that," I admitted. "But we all make mistakes, Harry. We're only human."

He didn't say anything to that. I could tell he still thought it was his fault, but he would have to get over that by himself. But I could also tell he felt better. Maybe he was actually starting to believe that he didn't' have to take the blame.

"I'm sorry you had to see all that at the Department of Mysteries. And I'm sorry your ankle got broken. It's my fault," he said.

"It's not your fault! I decided to come along by myself. You never forced me," I told him. "I guess I feel like I owe you for when you saved my life back in first year."

"You don't owe me anything," he disagreed. "And no matter what you say, I'm still blame myself that everyone came with me. I think they should just stay away from me. After what Dumbledore told me—"

I narrowed my eyes. "I've always wondered what Dumbledore told you that night," I said. It was more of a request to get him to reveal what had happened; I was sure he picked up on it, but not sure he would actually tell me.

"He told me a lot of stuff," he replied evasively. "Nothing, really."

"You're lying. It had to have been important. Why won't you just tell us?" I asked.

He sighed. _I think I'm breaking him down_, I thought. _He might tell us soon._

"He said…" he hesitated.

"Why won't you just tell us?" a familiar voice asked irritably. I jumped, and Hermione came over and sat on the bed. "We won't run away once you do." I had no idea how long she had been there, but when we made eye contact I could tell she had seen most of it.

"Are you okay mate?" I turned around to see Ron coming in the door.

"He told me there was this prophecy made that said…" he stopped again.

"Tell us!" Hermione and I yelled at the same time.

"Fine," he huffed. "He said that there was someone born at the end of July that had the power to defeat Voldemort. And that one of them had to kill the other." We cringed when he said his name.

"You have the power to kill You-Know-Who?" Ron asked. "Why didn't you tell us before?"

"It could have been Neville," he said wearily. "He was born at the end of July, too."

We all sat in silence; it was a lot to take in. "Oh Merlin," Hermione said. "You could die, Harry!"

Harry shrugged. Ron was dumbstruck. I could tell he had no idea what to say, and that he was scared for Harry; They were best friends, though. And we were all scared for him; Hermione continued to worry loudly about what danger he was in and how he could get killed, but I just sat there, staring at him in disbelief. It was terrifying, thinking that Harry could be meeting up with Voldemort on a more regular basis. I shuddered. What was I supposed to say to him? He was probably feeling bad enough about it himself without us making a huge deal out of it.

"Well, I'd better go take a shower. See you later," I said finally. That morning I had felt especially lazy and hadn't gotten dressed before breakfast. Plus, when You-Know-Who came up it was always best to steer clear of the three of them; they had been through so much together (mostly revolving around him) and it was best not to intervene. I felt kind of left out. And I was terrified about

As I was getting my things together, Tonks came in without knocking. "Is Harry okay?" she asked worriedly.

"I think he'll be fine," I replied shakily. I decided against telling Tonks about the prophecy; she might have already known, but I didn't want to be the one to tell her if she didn't. I figured Harry would tell her if he wanted to.

"Good," she said. "I'm really worried about him. Are _you_ all right?"

"I'm fine. And we're all worried about Harry. I think that part of it is that we can't really do anything for him," I said. "I mean, we can talk to him, but he has to come out of this slump by himself."

Tonks nodded. "I agree. He has to get through it himself. I'm going to go help your mum clean more." With that, she left and I headed into the bathroom to take my shower.

I had a lot to think about; I hoped Harry was okay, and thinking about how he could die scared me. It was either him or Voldemort; but how the hell was Harry expected to kill him? He was smart, yes, but not a cold-hearted killer. We could all die if we continued to go with him. But Harry was our friend, and we would do anything we could to help him. At least I knew _I_ would.

For some reason, I had spent a lot of time in the past few days thinking about what Ron had said. It kept playing over and over in my mind. _Why couldn't you go out with Harry?_

I shook my head to get the thought out and undressed. _You aren't going to go out with Harry!_ I told myself. _You don't even like him anymore! _

At least I hoped not. Things were complicated enough as it was.

* * *

**A/N: Review! NOW! I hope you liked it...**


	5. Diagon Alley

**Disclaimer:** This is getting kinda repetitive. I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters you recognize. OK?

**A/N: Well, you all are very lucky people. I worked it out so that it can have six chapters. I'm about halfway through writing it, so it'll probably be posted sometime this week. Please R&R!**

* * *

I awoke that morning to Mum yelling, "Ginevra Molly Weasley, wake up this instant!"

"What?" I asked, opening my eyes and sitting up groggily.

"We have to be at Diagon Alley in half an hour!" she exclaimed. "Hurry up and get dressed!"

_Oh, right_, I thought. _Diagon Alley. How could I have forgotten?_ I stood up and did as I was told, then headed downstairs for breakfast and ate hurriedly. Mum lectured us the whole time about staying with our escorts and all the things that could happen if we didn't have them around.

"Remember to stick with Remus, Tonks, and Alastor," Mum reminded us once again. "If they're not around and Death Eaters come, how do you expect to live? You'll never be able to protect yourselves!" That was not completely true, considering that we had done that already at the end of the school year. Although I had to admit that we probably wouldn't have lived if the Order hadn't come when they did.

When I finished, Mum asked, "Do you all have your lists?"

We nodded and held them up.

"Good. We're off," Lupin said.

* * *

When we arrived in Diagon Alley we saw a lot of our classmates. The first person we ran into was Colin Creevey. "Hello, Harry!" he exclaimed. "I'm a prefect! Isn't that great?"

I stopped dead in my tracks. _Colin Creevey_ was the other Gryffindor prefect?

"Dumbledore must be crazy," I heard Ron mutter under his breath. I snorted.

"Harry, do you know who the girl prefect is?" he asked, completely ignoring our presence. "I mean, it would only make sense if it was Ginny, because I think she's at the top of our class and—"

"Yes Colin," I intervened. "I'm the other prefect." He looked over at us as if he was seeing us for the first time.

"Oh. Hello," he said. "I've got to go. All right, Harry?"

"Yes, Colin," Harry sighed.

"Bye," Colin said, running off. I was surprised; he usually followed Harry around whenever he had the chance.

"I wonder where Dennis is," I said. Everyone shrugged.

"I wonder why he's so obsessed with Harry," Ron mused.

"Harry was probably one of the first people he heard about, especially out of all the people near his age. Harry's his idol, Ron," Hermione told him in a very wise (and slightly condescending) manner.

As we headed toward Flourish & Blott's I was talking to Hermione about OWLs, not paying any attention to where I was going and just following Hemione. I felt someone shoulder me and then a familiar voice mumble quietly, "Sorry, Ginny."

I turned around, startled, to see Dean Thomas standing hesitantly behind me. I smiled slightly, "It's fine, Dean. Just fine."

I saw him break out into a tentative grin as he turned around. I was glad. It seemed like things were basically settled between the two of us. I didn't want him acting strangely around me for the next two years.

We saw Cho Chang, too. Luckily, we were all paying attention to where we were walking so none of us bumped into her. A conversation with her would probably be more awkward than one between Dean and me. Much more awkward. I felt bad for her because of Cedric and all, but as far as I could tell she had just used Harry as a device to find out more about Cedric's death. I don't doubt that she liked him, but she had a strange way of showing it. Maybe that's not what happened, but that's what it looked like to me.

It took forever for us to get out of the store; there was a long line of people in front of us, mostly fellow students, who had large piles of books, too. My arms were getting tired from carrying the books, so Tonks took over for a little while.

And that's when Malfoy appeared. He was walking away with a stack of books he had probably just paid for. He glared at all of us and shouldered Harry when he walked by, causing him to almost drop his books. I was sure it wasn't a mistake. Harry grunted, but said nothing. It was almost strange to see Malfoy without his bodyguards—he wasn't all that imposing a figure without those two fat bastards on either side of him (not that I would actually pick a fight with him or anything). He was furious that we had sent his Dad to Azkaban. But that's where he belonged—not only was he a Death Eater, he was responsible for almost getting me killed when I was a first year.

He turned around and scowled again at all of us in pure disgust and said, "I see you're with your girlfriend. Do you take that slut everywhere with you?" There was no question that he was talking about me.

"You shut up, Malfoy," Ron warned, balling up his fists. Rage welled up in my veins—how dare he call me a slut?

"And the mudblood, too," he said. "They do go everywhere with you, don't they. 'Oh, Potter, I love you!'" he said in a mocking tone. I glared at him and grabbed Ron's arm to keep him from doing anything stupid.

"Go away, Malfoy," I ordered.

"Leave us alone," Harry said. "Don't you have anything better to do?"

With one final glare, he stalked out of the store.

"I was hoping I wouldn't have to see him until school started," Harry said.

"I was hoping that I would never have to see him again ever," Ron replied, still seething.

Hermione snorted. "That was wishful thinking." Ron shrugged.

We paid for our books and left the store. Finally. It had been an hour since we had first entered it.

Tonks looked at her watch. "Wow. It's noon already. Is anyone hungry?" she asked. We all shook our heads.

"Well, then, how about we go and visit Fred and George?" she suggested.

"Sounds great!" I said. They nodded in agreement, so we headed off in that direction. We were all eager to see their shop; none of us had seen it yet, although it had been a month since school let out.

It was a small shop with a big sign outside that read "JOKE SHOP" in big, capital red letters. It didn't seem too busy; there were a lot more people walking out (with bags of Skiving Snackboxes in hand) than there were walking in. It seemed everyone was finishing so they could take a break and eat.

_Well, it is around lunchtime. I guess we picked a good time,_ I thought.

We headed in and started looking for Fred and George; it wasn't long before we found them. They were both sitting on benches behind the counter, grinning at us.

"Hey," Fred said. "What brings you here? Would you like to buy some—"

"No, thank you," Tonks said, grinning. "We just came in to say hello."

"Hi," we all chorused.

"How've you been?" I asked. "Business been going well?"

Fred nodded. "It's been going great. Lee wanted a job for the summer, so we told him he could be in charge of the money. We get less profit, but now we don't really have to do anything here. We can leave whenever we want."

"And since we know and like all of you, how about Skiving Snackboxes for half off?" George asked, grinning expectantly. Ron looked as if he were seriously considering this. I glanced at Hermione to see if she noticed. She definitely had; she had a look of strong disapproval on her face. I stifled a laugh.

We visited for a little while longer, then left to finish our shopping. I had to admit, it was strange not having the two of them around. I missed it; they made life so much more interesting. There really hadn't been a time (at least during the summer) when they weren't around to make us laugh. This had definitely been one of the hardest summers of my life (although that certainly wasn't the only reason).

But one of the hardest years of my life was the year before I went to Hogwarts. I was the only one around, and I couldn't get away with _anything._ Mum was constantly watching my every move (something she never got to do when there were seven of us at home). I spent almost every waking moment (and I even had dreams about it) wishing I was at Hogwarts. I remember seeing Charlie, Bill, and Percy off for Percy's first year when I was about six and asking Mum, "Why can't I go there?"

I don't really remember what her reply was, but that was beside the point. What mattered was that I wanted to go to Hogwarts. And I waited for it patiently for four years. The year I was ten, I have to admit, I wasn't so patient…

And then my first year came; it would've been great, except that Tom Riddle's diary ruined everything. I almost died, and I was so sure I was going to get expelled… but no one blamed it on me. _I_ was the only one who blamed it on me, at least then. Everyone else thought it wasn't my fault. It took me a couple years to realize that.

Being escorted wasn't really all that awful. Tonks was never annoying to have around; she was really pleasant and gave good advice. And Lupin was nice and very friendly and understanding. Moody… well, he was strange, but not all that bad once you got to know him a little better, and as long as you didn't stare at his eye for too long. When we finished our shopping, we headed back to Grimmauld Place. It seemed like a normal enough day. Little did I know that it would turn into one of the strangest and best days of my life.

* * *

**A/N: I hope you liked it! Don't forget to review! I love you all!**

**Molly**


	6. Told You So!

**A/N: Here it is! The last chapter of this fic! In away, I've been waiting for this and dreading it at the same time. I just hope its well-received... Thanks again to Tal and Ainsley (although they didn't do much editing this time, because I was too eager to get it on)!

* * *

We ate an early dinner once we got back to Grimmauld Place since we didn't have any lunch and chatted about what had happened at Diagon Alley.**

"What did you think of Fred and George's joke shop?" Tonks asked, joining the conversation. Mum had interrogated her thoroughly to make sure there were no Death Eater encounters. It would've been funny, if it hadn't involved questions about death eaters and Voldemort.

"It was great!" Ron replied eagerly.

"I still think it will be a problem at school," Hermione said disapprovingly. "You didn't buy anything, did you Ron?"

"No. _You_ stopped me, remember?" he responded, looking at her in a slightly annoyed way. I winced. The last thing I wanted was those two fighting. It could ruin my friendship with Hermione _and_ Ron. And knowing them, they might make me do some strange picking thing where I had to decide between Hermione or Ron. They were normally pretty fair and very nice to me, but I imagined that they could do some strange things if they broke up. And that was just about the last thing I wanted to do right now. I still had a lot of mixed feelings about what had been going on lately, like with the Department of Mysteries. And with Harry. I didn't think I had ever been more confused in my life. He seemed like he liked me, but I was over him. Wasn't I? I thought I had gotten over that _years_ ago. Like when I was a third year. Right?

Well then why did I flinch at his touch? Why did I feel so strange when he hugged me back on his first day? I was apparently so wrapped up in these thoughts that I had no idea when Tonks started to talk to me.

I stopped thinking when Tonks shook my shoulder. "Ginny? Are you okay? You haven't touched your food, or even moved, in fifteen minutes. And Hermione, Ron, and Harry have all finished. Ron and Hermione said they were going up to your room, though, so I would suggest you be careful."  
"Oh. Okay," I replied. I was slightly disoriented from having thought so much. It took me a few minutes to comprehend  
what Tonks was saying.

She looked at me concernedly. "Are you all right? You seem a bit… dazed."

I shrugged. "Yeah. I was just thinking."

"About what?" she asked.

"Tell me, did Ron and Hermione seem a little bit angry at each other about the whole Joke Shop thing to you?"

She shrugged. "Hermione was a little bit annoyed that he would do something like that. But not angry. I mean, really. Haven't you ever been annoyed at someone before? Because it's really not all that different."

"Okay, good," I replied. "Because I don't want them to get angry and then break up and make me choose between the two of them."

"Ginny, they would never do that!" Tonks exclaimed. "I don't think its going to be a problem. From the sound of it, they were going off to your room to snog."

I sighed. "Great. Now I can't even get into my room."  
Tonks shrugged, eyes twinkling. "You could always go to Harry in his room. I'm sure he wouldn't mind talking to you."

I rolled my eyes. "Maybe I should."

"Good idea."

"And it wouldn't be to ask him out or anything like that, either. I'll bet you a hundred Galleons nothing's going to happen." Sadly, I didn't even have a hundred Galleons. Too bad.

"That's all right, Ginny. Keep your money."

"Fine. I will," I told her, standing up. "I'm going upstairs."

"Okay," Tonks said. "Have fun."

"I looked over my shoulder and glared at her, then continued out of the room. I made my way up the steps and knocked on the door of Harry and Ron's room.

"Come in," I heard Harry say.

I opened the door and came in hesitantly. "Hey, Harry," I said. "I heard that Hermione and Ron were going to be in my room, so I decided to stay away."

Harry smiled slightly. "Good idea."

"I thought so," I said, nodding and going to sit down next to him.

We talked for a little longer, and the butterflies that I got when I was alone with Harry started to come.

And what Ron had said started to play over and over in my head. _Why couldn't you go out with Harry? Why couldn't you go out with Harry_? God, it was driving me mad!

I had to do something about it. If I didn't I would go crazy.

I turned to Harry, who was telling me about something. He looked at me concernedly.

"Are you all right, Ginny? You seem a bit…I don't know, unsettled."

I nodded.

And the next thing I knew, I was kissing Harry.

And he was kissing me back.

As soon as I realized this, I pulled away from him. "I'm so sorry Harry, I have no idea what I'm doing. I really have to go," I told him, running out of the room.

* * *

I scrambled frantically down the hall to Tonks's room and knocked frantically on the door. Tonks opened it and looked at me. "You kissed him," she said bluntly.

I nodded reluctantly. "Why was I so stupid?"

"You weren't stupid," she replied. "There was nothing stupid about it. You liked him."

"What's your point?" I asked angrily, walking into the room and closing the door behind me. "We were having a conversation and I started going crazy and kissed him. I was temporarily insane. What am I supposed to tell Harry?"

She looked at me quizzically. "Tell him? Did he kiss you back?" I nodded again. "Well, then, you should tell him that you'd gladly go out with him."

"But he probably was only kissing me back to be nice—"

Tonks snorted. "You don't kiss someone back to be nice, Gin. You only kiss them back if you like them. So go back and talk to him."

I sighed and started heading out the door. "Fine."

"Wait, Ginny," Tonks said. I turned around and looked at her. "I told you so."

I stuck out my tongue at her playfully, then walked nervously back down the hall.

I knocked on the door to Harry's room again.

"Come in," he said. I entered very reluctantly.

"Ginny," he said, as if pleasantly surprised but slightly embarrassed. His face was bright red. I sat down next  
to him. "I hope—"

But I didn't want him to say any more. I leaned in again, and our lips met again.

And this time I wasn't too nervous to enjoy it.

We were still kissing on Harry's bed when I heard the door open and Ron yell, "Oh my God!

I looked toward the door and said, "Ron, go away." Then I turned back to Harry.

I heard Ron gag as the door shut and shout, "I'm scarred for life!"

* * *

"Bye! See you next summer!" everyone yelled as the train started moving. Everyone, that is, except Tonks, who was nowhere in sight.

"I can't believe summer's already over," I mused.

Ron nodded. "I know. But it was a good summer."

"Yeah," I said. "But don't say you're not excited about this year."

He shrugged. "I am. But I wonder—who do you think the new Defense against the Dark Arts teacher is?"

"I have a feeling—" I stopped when I heard the door open.

"Tonks!" Hermione exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm teaching," she replied, grinning. "Is there room for me in here?"

We nodded, and I sighed happily. Maybe Sirius had just died a few months earlier and we had all basically faced our worst nightmare, but at least we all had each other. And Tonks, since she was teaching. This was going to be a great year. I could just tell.

* * *

**A/N: Wow! I'm finally done! This fic has been in the works for three or four months (about), and it feels good to be finished with it. But I'll miss all of my wonderful readers. sob! Check out my other fics (my new one, "Behind Closed Doors," a Lily and James romance fic, is going to be submitted soon), and check for the sequel (which should be coming soon)!  
Molly ;D****  
**


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